(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- Lightweight electronics, meet the heavyweight champion for information protection. Security experts at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have announced a victor in their program to find a worthy defender of data generated by small devices. The winner—a group of cryptographic algorithms called Ascon—will be published as NIST’s lightweight cryptography standard later in 2023.

The chosen algorithms are designed to protect information created and transmitted by the internet of things (IoT), including its myriad tiny sensors and actuators. The algorithms are also designed for other miniature technologies such as implanted medical devices, stress detectors inside roads and bridges, and keyless entry fobs for vehicles. Devices like these need “lightweight cryptography”—protection that uses the limited amount of electronic resources they possess. According to NIST computer scientist Kerry McKay, the newly selected algorithms should be appropriate for most forms of tiny tech.

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